Glossary of terms

 conglomerate-a corporation of several different, sometimes unrelated businesses. these are made up of subsidiaries of one big parent company.

independent company- an independent company may belong to a sole proprietor , a partnership, or a select group of several owners.

public service model- a company that delivers services beneficial to public interest.

joint venture- when one media company works with another on a project that is mutually beneficial

distribution- how a brand reaches an audience and marketing/promotion.

vickery and hawkins- suggest independent companies license their films to distribution companies who will release them on their behalf.

vertical integration- a strategy whereby a company owns or controls it's suppliers , distributers, or retail locations to control its value or supply chain. the pros of this is then there could be no need to rely on suppliers or distributers and it can result it lower costs, there is also the potential to monopolise the market. Cons are that it is very expensive and reduces flexibility, it can also result in a loss of focus on the original product.

horizontal integration- the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain. A company may do this via acquisition or merger. 

synergy- increased efficiency and profit as a result of vertical and horizontal integration. Conglomerates are formed to create synergy in order to cross promote

Mise en scene- placing in the scene

setting- where the film or tv show is set (studio/location/production design)

diegesis-the fictional world (time and place) of the narrative

verisimilitude-how real the world appears

diegetic effect- diegesis+verisimilitude

props-anything held by an actor in a film

hero prop- any prop seen to be functioning

staging- editing or designing a performance to work on screen

blocking-position of actors on stage/ screen 

proxemics- spatial relationship between things

costume- clothing a character wears

figure expression and figure movement-  acting style or use of facial expressions to convey emotions, movement is how things move on screen which is important for creating spectacle in action movies and musicals

prosthetic makeup- special effects makeup

cinematography- shot types, camera angles, composition and aspect ratio, lighting, colour, lens type, focus, camera movement

shot types:

 close shot- extreme close up, close up, big close up, medium close up. These are for showing detail, emphasis and intimacy.

mid shots- medium close up, medium long shot(knees), medium shot (waist). used for showing locations, establishing spatial relationships and it is still close enough to show faces.

wide shots- long shot(subject fills frame), extreme long shot, master shot(everything is in view), establishing shot. showing action, creating spectacle, showing what is going on.

extreme close up- this is used to show emotion.

close up-

medium close up-

medium shot-

medium long shot-

long shot-

extreme long shot-

master shot-

establishing shot-

camera angles- high angle, level, low angle, dutch angle, top shot, aerial shot.

level shot- shot at eye level, they can create empathy for characters, they are a neutral shot.

high angle shots (top shot, ariel shot)- used for establishing locations and making a subject look weak or diminished.

low angles- good for making subjects look big, tall, powerful or heroic. Also used for looking up at things

top shot- looking straight down on the subject but not taken from an aircraft, usually indoors.

aerial shot- usually taken from an aircraft. can be used to establish location.

dutch angles- making things look strange, surreal, scary, confusing or 'off kilter', can suggest insanity or intoxication.

POV- showing what a character is looking at, can be subjective(first person) or objective (3rd person).

level shot-

high angle-

top shot-

aerial shot-

aerial establishing shot-

low angle-

POV-

dutch angle-

pan- where a camera rotates on a horizontal axis

tilt- the camera rotates on its vertical axis

tracking/dolly shots- a dolly on a track that can move along the track.

arc shots- camera moves around a person in a circular motion

normal lens- has a focal lens of about 35-50 mm and closely resembles the way the human eye perceives things; this is the most commonly used lens.

wide angle/fisheye lens- increase depth perception, used for dream sequences.

telephoto lens- makes distant objects seem closer, creating a shallower depth of field.

zoom lens-can focus on distant things.

denotative- what we see

connotative- what we associate with an image.

Todorov 5 stage narrative theory (1969)- equilibrium to disruption to realisation to repair to restoration back to equilibrium (example: back to the future)

Strauss (1958)- structural anthropology, most common means of structuring a story was through binary opposition. can be embedded into narrative and mise-en-scene, such as good and evil, black and white or young and old.

Roland Barthes- Denotation/ connotation, semiotics

Stuart Hall (1980)- encoding/decoding- preferred meaning, negotiated reading, oppositional reading.